News, Events, Updates

There are many plot tours and events coming up in July and August. Here is a list of events I have collected. It is not all inclusive and dates and places may have changed. Please check with the organizers of the different events.

Educational Events in July and August

There are many plot tours and events coming up in July and August. Here is a list of events I have collected. It is not all inclusive and dates and places may have changed. Please check with the organizers of the different events.

July

6 & Tomato Pruning, 1800 21st Ave. S., Fargo ND

Aug 17 Free and open to the public, 4 p.m.

10 Central Grasslands REC, Streeter, field day. 4 to 7 p.m., followed by

For years, applicators, bee keepers, organic growers, and vineyard enthusiasts have struggled with pesticide drift incidents.

Apiary and Sensitive Site Database and Map Available

For years, applicators, bee keepers, organic growers, and vineyard enthusiasts have struggled with pesticide drift incidents. Bee kills, loss of organic certification, and grape injury have led to costly complaint investigations, expensive lawsuits, hard feelings, and even bankruptcies of farms and businesses. In almost all cases, good communication and accurate mapping would have gone a long ways to avoiding the problem in the first place.

While online lists, registries, database, and mapping systems have been around for the last several years, the North Dakota Department of Agriculture has integrated all these approaches, plus an automated alert system into their latest, “Apiary and Sensitive Site Database”.

If you are a pesticide applicator you can register an area where you are going to be applying pesticides and receive alerts regarding sensitive locations in your designated area. If you are a bee keeper, organic grower, etc., you can register your sensitive site(s) and you can also receive alerts for watch areas of pesticide treatments.

The system has evolved over the years from nothing more than a simple list of names with contact information, into a useful and interactive mapping and alert system tool. Check it out and create an on-line account to register your application territory or sensitive site.

In 2015, Project Safe Send handled a record, 192 tons of waste pesticides. As a result, the funds available for collections in 2016 have been severely depleted and thus limits have been placed on how much material will be accepted.

Project Safe Send, Waste Pesticide Collection Limits

In 2015, Project Safe Send handled a record, 192 tons of waste pesticides. As a result, the funds available for collections in 2016 have been severely depleted and thus limits have been placed on how much material will be accepted.

A maximum of 3,000 pounds of pesticides per participant will be allowed. Pesticide rinse water and empty containers will not be accepted.

No pre-registration is required, but participants are strongly encouraged to check the North Dakota Department of Agriculture’s website prior to bringing pesticides to a collection site to ensure their site remains operational. Sites will only be operational until funding is depleted.

For more information, contact Jeremiah Lien at the North Dakota Department of Agriculture at (800) 242-7535 or jjlien@nd.gov.

The IPM (Integrated Pest Management) field scouts training was conducted on May 25th at the Carrington REC.

IPM Crop Scouting

The IPM (Integrated Pest Management) field scouts training was conducted on May 25th at the Carrington REC. Field scouts in the IPM program will be surveying four crops (wheat, barley, sunflower and soybean) for major diseases and insect pests. The purpose of the survey program is to monitor for the major pests of these field crops and to provide timely pest alerts for producers and crop consultants. Survey results will be posted in map format on the NDSU IPM web page, and reported on in the NDSU Crop and Pest Report. The NDSU IPM scouts are:

Claire Endres, central and south central counties, working out of Carrington REC with Greg Endres

Brandi Herauf, southwest and west central counties, working out of Dickinson REC with Ryan Buetow

Hannah Kempler, north central counties, working out of NCREC in Minot with Travis Prochaska & Shana Forster

Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring says farmers, ranchers, pesticide dealers and applicators, government agencies and homeowners should bring any unusable pesticides to any of the 10 Project Safe Send collections in July.

2016 Project Safe Send Set for July

BISMARCK – Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring says farmers, ranchers, pesticide dealers and applicators, government agencies and homeowners should bring any unusable pesticides to any of the 10 Project Safe Send collections in July.

“Over the past 24 years, thousands of people have brought more than four million pounds of these chemicals to Project Safe Send,” Goehring said. “It is a safe, simple and non-regulatory program that helps people safely and legally get rid of unusable pesticides at no charge.”

The program accepts old, unusable or banned pesticides, including herbicides, insecticides, rodenticides and fungicides. The collected pesticides are shipped out of state for incineration. Project Safe Send is funded through product registration fees paid by pesticide manufacturers.

“Check your storage areas for any unusable pesticides and safely set them aside for Project Safe Send,” Goehring said. “If the containers are deteriorating or leaking, pack them in larger containers with absorbent materials. Free heavy-duty plastic bags are available from the North Dakota Department of Agriculture if needed.”

No pre-registration is required but consumers are encouraged to check the North Dakota Department of Agriculture’s website at https://www.nd.gov/ndda/program/project-safe-send prior to bringing pesticides to a collection site to ensure their site remains operational. Sites will only be operational until funding is depleted.

A maximum of 3,000 pounds of pesticides per participant will be accepted. Pesticide rinse water and empty containers are no longer accepted.

To pre-register, obtain plastic bags or for more information, contact Jeremiah Lien at the North Dakota Department of Agriculture at (800) 242-7535 or jjlien@nd.gov.

The collections will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. local time at the North Dakota Department of Transportation facilities in the following cities:

The Integrated Pest Management (IPM) field scouts training was conducted on May 27th at the Carrington REC. Field scouts in the IPM program will be surveying four crops (wheat, barley, sunflower and soybean) for major diseases and insect pests.

IPM Survey STARTS

The Integrated Pest Management (IPM) field scouts training was conducted on May 27th at the Carrington REC. Field scouts in the IPM program will be surveying four crops (wheat, barley, sunflower and soybean) for major diseases and insect pests. The purpose of the survey is to monitor for the major pests of these field crops and to provide timely pest alerts for crop producers and crop consultants. Survey results will be posted in map format at the NDSU IPM web page, and reported on in the NDSU Crop and Pest Report. The NDSU IPM scouts are:

Kyle Aasand, central and south central counties, working out of Carrington REC with Greg Endres

Brandi Herauf, southwest and west central counties, working out of Dickinson REC with Ryan Buetow

Jacee Aaseth, north central counties, working out of NCREC in Minot with Shana Pederson

Audrey Kalil, northwest counties, working out of Williston REC

Brandon Wendland & Taylor Senger, south east and east central counties, working out of NDSU campus, Fargo with Jan Knodel, Andrew Friskop and Sam Markell

Jaime Lundquist, north east counties, working out of Langdon REC with Leslie Lubenow and Benson County Extension Office with Scott Knoke